Why is Yawning Contagious?: Everything you ever wanted to know about the human body and some things you'd rather not know!David Haviland

Why is Yawning Contagious? by Francesca Gould (edited by David Haviland)

Published in the US as Why You Shouldn't Eat Your Boogers...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the human body - and some things you'd rather not...

· Why is yawning contagious? Some experts think that yawning may have developed as a means of communication. It may, for example, be a way of signalling to others that it's important to remain alert and stay awake in a certain situation. Another theory is that our early ancestors used it as part of their social behaviour, and as a way to help build a bond with the rest of the group.

· Why are bogies green? When white blood cells meet germs, they make a large amount of an enzyme called myeloperoxidase, which is green because it contains a lot of iron. The colouration therefore comes from the iron.

Why is Yawning Contagious? is a fascinating treasure trove of trivia, a book which at last provides the answers to all of our most baffling and embarrassing questions about the human body.

Francesca Gould

Francesca Gould was born in 1970 in Bath. Her favourite lesson in school was biology and, although a vegetarian, she recalls being fascinated by the structure of a bull’s eye, and the squelching noise it made when pricked with a scalpel. She has been fascinated by biology and human anatomy ever since.

Francesca has been an anatomy and physiology lecturer for many years. She is also the author of several textbooks on the subject; some of which have been widely translated. She also runs her own training school in Bristol, and teaches a broad range of courses.

Book Details:

David Haviland is a writer, editor, and ghostwriter, with a number of bestselling books to his name, which have been sold to publishers all over the world and widely serialised.David has written a number of books of amusing trivia and popular science. The most recent, How To Remove A Brain (Summersdale, 2012), is a collection of fascinating stories and anecdotes concerning the history of medicine and health. This book was previously published by Penguin in the US as Why You Should Store Your Farts in a Jar.David's next book is a myth-busting guide to history, revealing the truth behind many...More about David Haviland